NBL Canada season to tip off sooner to boost attendance

The National Basketball League of Canada is moving up its schedule for next season by six weeks because fans want to spend more time outside in the spring.

The season will now begin in mid-November, rather than late December, and will end at the beginning of April, as opposed to mid-May.

Tyrone Levingston, the president of the Cape Breton Highlanders, said a survey of fans was conducted to look at when the season should run.

"Our fans showed that that was the right choice to make," he said, pointing out that attendance had been dropping off toward the end of the season around the league.

Levingston said people start opening up cottages in April and generally want to spend more time outdoors at that time of the year.

Cape Breton makes coaching change

Levingston also announced the Highlanders have hired Robert Spon as their new head coach. A native of Pittsburgh, Spon has 20 years of professional coaching experience. Last year, he led the Saint John Riptide to the second-best record in the Atlantic division of NBL Canada.

"He's just the coach that I really believe can get the job done," said Levingston.

Spon is pleased to join the Highlanders.

"It's awesome to be here. This is a basketball town. The fans heckled very loudly when I came here with the Riptide," he said with a smile.

The NBL Canada schedule for 2017-18 has not yet been completed, but play will begin on Nov. 18.

Levingston also announced the league has mandated that each team carry five Canadian players on its roster, up from the previous requirement of four.

He said the eventual goal of the league is to have Canadians represent the majority on team rosters. At present, players from the U.S. make up the bulk of the roster.

Levingston said there are expansion plans for the 10-team league. He said St. John's and Sudbury, Ont., are both expected to put teams on the floor within two years. However, there's controversy over the plans to set up shop in St. John's.